India has reportedly blocked the Instagram story about the Pakistani Olympic and Gold Medal Arshad Nadeem as tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad continue to simmer after the Pahagam attack.
According to media reports, the Indian government, which acted on the recommendations of the Ministry of Domestic Affairs, banned the former 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including those belonging to three former Pakistani cricketers – Rashid Latif, Shoaib Akhtar and Basit Ali.
In what appears to be a further escalation of digital restrictions, Arshad Nadeem’s Instagram profile is now unavailable for users in India. Nadeem, who won Pakistan’s first ever Olympic gold medal in javelin, was recently invited by Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra to attend a spear event in India. However, Nadeem rejected the invitation.
The invitation came only a day before the Pahagam incident, which has since triggered a fresh wave of accusations and counter-narratives between the two countries. Observers suggest that India’s steps to block Nadeem’s account may be an attempt to control online tales around the recent turmoil.
Meanwhile, Indian right -wing groups have also criticized Neeraj Chopra for expanding the invitation to the Pakistani athlete.
A day earlier, Instagram had also limited access to the accounts of several prominent Pakistani celebrities and influences India, referring to a legal request related to content control.
Affected accounts include them by actress Mahira Khan, influencer Hania Aamir and singer actor Ali Zafar. Indian users trying to see these profiles meet with the message: “Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to limit this content.”
